House of Fraser to sell stake to Hamleys owner and close stores May 2, 2018 House of Fraser became the latest struggling retailer to confirm that it will close stores yesterday, as part of a deal to sell a stake to the owner of Hamleys. But employees will have a nail-biting month-long wait to find out which of the 59 stores will be affected. The department store group, owned by [...]
Persimmon is under pressure on paying the “real living wage” at today’s AGM amid wider shareholder revolt on executive pay April 25, 2018 Major investors with £23bn under management are today set to pile the pressure on housebuilder Persimmon to pay its employees the “real living wage”. At Persimmon’s annual general meeting, the company will be presented with a petition calling for it to accredit with the Living Wage Foundation, a campaigning group supported by the likes of [...]
April tax changes 2018: How will they affect me and will I be better or worse? Sugar tax comes in and personal allowance rises April 6, 2018 With spring – sort of – in the air, a shake-up in the tax system is also on the cards with the new tax year starting today. From the much-discussed sugar tax to the ongoing fuel duty freeze, here’s a roundup of what’s changing – and what has proved controversial. Read more: Sugar tax a [...]
Retail sales growth beats analysts’ expectations March 22, 2018 Retail sales grew by 0.8 per cent in February, beating analysts’ expectations. However, in the three months to February, sales fell by 0.4 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics. This was due to a sharp drop in sales in December. The bump was largely due to growth in groceries, fuel and online [...]
What happened when we got a job picking weed in California’s booming cannabis industry March 5, 2018 The rugged wilderness of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity Counties, northern California’s “Emerald Triangle”, produces over half the cannabis consumed in the US. Every year, from September to December, the region swarms with seasonal agricultural workers known as “trimmers”, or “trimmigrants”, here to work the land to supply America’s legion of stoners. For years the going [...]
Jeremy Corbyn slammed for dubbing City “pernicious and undemocratic” February 20, 2018 Jeremy Corbyn has been slammed by City chiefs for attacking the “pernicious and undemocratic” influence of the financial services sector. The Labour leader will today reignite his party’s war against the City, saying his party will make it “the servant of industry not the masters of us all.” Speaking at a conference organised by manufacturing [...]
Bank of England survey shows UK pay rises might finally be on the way February 14, 2018 A long-awaited pay rise for UK workers is finally here, according to a Bank of England survey of businesses. According to the February update, private sector business leaders are expecting an average pay settlement rate of 3.1 per cent in 2018, compared with 2.6 per cent last year. Only the construction sector is predicted to [...]
The Bank of England will almost certainly hike rates in May February 14, 2018 The question of the next rise in UK interest rates has shifted definitively from if to when. Last week an uncharacteristically hawkish press conference by the Bank of England Governor Mark Carney left the markets in little doubt that it could come as early as May. At the start of the week the probability of [...]
Inflation stays at three per cent despite expectations of a dip February 13, 2018 Consumer price inflation (CPI) remained at three per cent in January, unchanged from the month before, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). CPI is the rate at which the prices of goods and services bought by households rise or fall. CPI including owner occupiers’ housing costs was 2.7 per cent, also unchanged month-on-month. [...]
UK retailers suffer worst footfall and spending for half a decade February 12, 2018 Britain’s retailers have been dealt another blow at the start of 2018, suffering the worst January for sales and footfall in half a decade. Figures released today by retail experts Springboard show footfall dropped by 1.6 per cent last month, the worst result for January since 2013, with customer numbers on high streets falling by [...]